Post #7: The Progressive Era

The start of anti-war movements date all the way back to America's birth. Almost every war that has ever occurred in the United States has brought with it some type of anti-war movement. 

The Anti-Vietnam War Movement at the University of Michigan, 1965-1972. 

Probably one of the most well-known and significant anti-war movements was the Revolutionary War, when a small minority of American colonists were in favor of the British crown. Approximately 500,000 colonists were Loyalists and 19,000 made up the arms against the patriots. A numerous amount of Loyalists took off to Canada and other parts of the British empire after the revolution. Quakers wanted no part in the war even though they were at risk for persecution by the patriots and the Loyalists. 

Along with this, they even refused to pay taxes or use paper money that was issued by the Second Continental Congress. Later on, there would be movements for the War of 1812, Mexican-American War, Civil War, Spanish-American War, WWI, WWII, and more. 

Nowadays, unfamiliar websites like Antiwar.com and The American Conservative are used by people who have strong anti-war voices and are not usually heard in the mainstream news. This is potentially due to economy not being as stimulated now like it was during WWII. During WWII, the economy went through a "boom," meaning there was an expansion in industrial productions, job creations, and a rise in consumer spending. 

I think we have to seek out obscure websites in order to hear strong anti-war voices because it is a dissenting view point to the mainstream. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans are anti-war, but instead they are both eager to boost military spending and deepen American commitments abroad. 

This chart shows the decline in the anti-war movement with the Democratic Party because of Partisanship.

Anti-war movements are very important in our world as they challenge the authority of governments to wage war and even promote alternative solutions to conflict resolutions. To add to this, they raise awareness about the human cost of war, trauma, and even loss of life. They then can lead to policy changes like the removal of troops from a conflicted war zone.